Unfill before PG ~ Dr's Orders

[Liz1531 3]

Hi ladies! I wanted to share with everyone what my doc told me today. I went in to make sure my band is okay and ask what I need to do as we want to get PG at the end of the year. The doc told me that they can't do fluro if I am pregnant and when you don't use fluro you run the risk of puncturing a hole in the port. As if to prove a point, the gal who went in before me went to another fill doctor and he did a blind fill and actually punctored a hole in her port and she must now get a new one. The gal was telling me before going in that when she was pregnant, she didn't get an unfill, ended up messing up the band and then it caused problems but she wouldn't let them remove until after delivery. Well, by then the band was so messed up and she was so sick they had to completely remove it. So, with the new port this will be her third surgery.

I know many gals don't have these issues, but as a self pay patient I can't afford to take ANY risks, so I thought I'd share.

[jillrn 0]

My dr never uses floro- I have not had any of these problems. The only issue I have is it being too tight during pg until I got completely unfilled now everything is great. Good luck with get pg!

[juno610 1]

My original surgeon was one of the only ones in my area that did all fills under flouro. My new guy doesn't at all. I think adjustments withOUT flouro are more the norm, so I can't imagine there is such a great risk. Plus, I don't really get how they can put a hole in the port. I mean, the port has a membrane that must be punctured by the needle to access it in the first place. Maybe he hit her tubing??

[Liz1531 3]

My original surgeon was one of the only ones in my area that did all fills under flouro. My new guy doesn't at all. I think adjustments withOUT flouro are more the norm, so I can't imagine there is such a great risk. Plus, I don't really get how they can put a hole in the port. I mean, the port has a membrane that must be punctured by the needle to access it in the first place. Maybe he hit her tubing??

The doc pulled out a band and showed me how easy it is to poke a hole into the tube. It's a little plastic deally.

[juno610 1]

The doc pulled out a band and showed me how easy it is to poke a hole into the tube. It's a little plastic deally.

I figured it had to be a tubing risk. I mean, the port itself has to be punctured to be accessed in the first place.

[Quinny 1]

What is fluro? I'm waiting to have the surgery and hope to get pregnant after losing 80 lbs or so. Tell me what you know about getting pregnant with the band? Do you have to get it unfilled before conceiving or can they do it once you get pregnant?

[juno610 1]

What is fluro? I'm waiting to have the surgery and hope to get pregnant after losing 80 lbs or so. Tell me what you know about getting pregnant with the band? Do you have to get it unfilled before conceiving or can they do it once you get pregnant?

Flouro pretty much means you are getting a fill aided by x-ray. I always thought it was pretty cool because my surgeon would show me the video of my barium swallow after each adjustment.

To answer your other question, no, you do NOT have to get unfilled before conceiving. Every doctor is different though as far as recommendations once pregnant. If you look through some of the other threads here, you'll find some of us talking about our different experiences. For me, I got a small unfill early on only because I got really really tight and couldn't eat anything. I still have 1.3 ccs in a 4cc band. I'm 23 weeks along now and all is well.

Good luck to you!

[losingitforlife 0]

Just to confirm what your Dr. said, mine said the SAME thing :confused_smile: He wants me to get a complete unfill under fluro before we do IVF. He stated the worst case scenario's like you mentioned and also said that of course these were the worst case but as self pay also wanted me to be extra cautious. I fought the idea at first but now I realize he is right, if I did something to screw up my band over just being stubborn and wanting to keep a fill, I would be so mad at myself. :tt1: Good luck with the PG!! I had to change my appts today but will have my IVF done on Aug 7th! YEA.

[SOM 0]

But what happens if you find yourself pg (oops) ?? I got pg 2 years after my band and had a complete unfill without flouro. It was done with the same NP that usually does my fills. However, a few months after I had my baby (and 50 pounds later...) I got fill after fill after fill to finally find out that there was a major leak (actually hole) in theport tube. It was not due puncture from the fills. Rather, my doc thinks its due to a bend in the part where the tube goes in to the peritoneal cavity (inside the muscle wall of the belly), then with the expanded abdomen, the material just brokedown. Manufac. defect??? I dunno, but leaks could happen due to other reasons other than bad fills. I am planning another baby in the next few months, but am having second thoughts about unfilling. I am very comfortable now. not loosing, not gaining. I am able to get a well-balanced diet.

[losingitforlife 0]

SOM - I'm so sorry you are going through that. Your right, if you have an oops pregnancy there isn't anything that you can do. No way to get fluro done then. UGH How frustrating for you. I've never heard of the tubing getting bent. Nothing that could have changed that outcome. What Dr. did you use in Mexico? Mine is Dr. Aceves in Mexciali

I also thought, forget it, I'm not getting an unfill. I'm at a perfect spot right now, no pbing, able to eat a good amt, not losing, not gaining. But when Dr. Aceves went through the worst case scenarios which of course included puncturing the tubing getting an unfill during pregnancy because he can't use fluro, I relented an scheduled the unfill before we do IVF in August. My husband was insistent on a complete unfill. He said we aren't going to spend the money on IVF only to possibly have complications with getting nutrition to me or to baby or damage the band and do that all over again. I had to agree :sad:

How has the band been working for you since you got the new tubing/port?

[Wheetsin 714]

when you don't use fluro you run the risk of puncturing a hole in the port.

That's the purpose of the port - to be punctured by a needle. So the reasoning they're giving you doesn't even make sense.

Fills without fluoroscopic aid aren't like someone closing their eyes and trying to blindly pin the tail on the donkey. The person doing the fill should first locate the port and then palpitate to ensure they're centered over it before inserting the needle.